NFR26

With all the coverage of national candidates, you might think that we will be voting for President of the United States this November. However 2015 is an off-year election with only local races for towns and counties. Last year’s atypical local elections were required by the resignation of two councilmen.

One of the problems with living in a rural area is getting accurate weather information. The nearest official weather stations are Binghamton and Monticello, which doesn’t do much for us on top of a hill in Delaware County. So we decided to investigate the possibility of our own weather station.

The simplest and cheapest (free) is a weather rock, but it’s pretty basic and isn’t easy to share.

Another inexpensive item is a 99¢ thermometer. Good if you are standing next to the window where it is mounted, but not much help otherwise.

We wanted a more accurate weather solution, one which could indicate temperature, wind speed and direction, rainfall, and barometric pressure, and ideally send the feed to the internet so everyone interested in the area could benefit. Of course, our budget wasn’t unlimited either, so plunking down $35,000 for a prepackaged solution was out of the question. With all this in mind, our investigation led us to a Davis Vantage Pro 2, plus some additional equipment to allow an easy connection to the internet. Continue reading…

The Tennessee Gas Pipeline Company, LLC (TGP) plans to build in Franklin the mid-stream compressor and office buildings for the supply path segment of the Northeast Energy Direct Pipeline. For this facility, they have taken an option to purchase a hundred seventeen acres from the Haneys. This land is mostly north of (uphill of) the proposed route of the pipeline and east of Otego Road. It is two miles above the Village of Franklin and one mile above Village of Otego.

TGP NED supply path mid-station

The compressor building would occupy a ten acre site close to the pipeline, which is near the southern boundary of this property. Access to the site would be from the existing road to the unfinished tower at the northern boundary. Plot plans are expected with the revised Resource Reports in July. In the building, a C85 compressor would be powered by a single 30,000 hp gas turbine, similar to a jet engine. This model Titan 250 is the largest made by Solar Turbines Inc. Every minute it will push a half million standard cubic feet of natural gas through a pipe thirty inches in diameter. Continue reading…

With interest in sustainable and responsible food production on the increase, organic and locally¹ grown food is in growing demand. This can easily be seen at larger franchise supermarkets, where entire aisles, sections, and displays are now dedicated to such products, as well as in the continued demand for farmers’ markets and food cooperatives. Such phenomena are celebrated by discerning food enthusiasts far and wide.

375 Main Street, Franklin, the new home of Gone Local –Photo by the author

Unfortunately, with the summer-only exception of the weekly Farmers’ Market, it is especially difficult to support local producers and meet basic needs or quality standards on a regular basis in our hometown of Franklin. Personally, I have always resented having to travel to Oneonta to do the bulk of my grocery shopping, secretly envying small towns like Delhi and Hamden who manage to support their own natural food stores. Continue reading…